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In his absence, Cole, David di Michele and a Mark Noble penalty were enough to take three points against Fulham and extend the Hammers unbeaten run to five games.

Bellamy has spent much of his two seasons at Upton Park injured and Cole believes they can shine without him.

'We proved it,' said Cole. 'Last season Craig was injured and we did well without him. I don't see why we can't do it again.'

The former Chelsea star insisted the controversy surrounding Bellamy, who stormed out on Friday after West Ham refused to give permission to talk to Spurs, has not disturbed the spirit among Gianfranco Zola's squad.

Back in front: Mark Noble scores his 60th minute penalty to put West Ham back in the lead against Fulham

He said: 'We're professionals. We get on with the job. We've had worse thrown at us. Craig is a professional player and he's got his own beliefs. We're professional, too, and we just carry on.

'Craig is a massive player for us and hopefully we can get the situation resolved sooner rather than later.'

Hammers boss Zola will waste no time in is Ugandan-born Brescia striker Savio Nsereko, a German Under-19 international.

On the brink: Bellamy is close to joining Manchester City after West Ham accpeted a £12million bid for the Welsh striker

Technical director Gianluca Nani, who was at Serie B Brescia before joining West Ham last season, is poised to make a £6million bid for the 19-year-old.

Another possible arrival is 23-year-old Fiorentina striker Pablo Osvaldo in a loan deal, while a third player linked to West Ham over the weekend has been Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli.

Possible target: West Ham have been linked with Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, is expecting Jimmy Bullard to be back in contention for a place against non-league Kettering in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday — assuming the bustling midfielder is still at the club.

Yesterday's defeat was the third successive game the highly-regarded Bullard had missed through illness or injury and Hodgson admitted the absence of the player had been a factor in Fulham's first defeat in 11 matches.

He said: 'Jimmy is an attacking player and in terms of getting on the ball and his ability to pass the ball, we miss that.

'I can only hope that, when we start training again, Jimmy will be fit and make himself available for the Kettering match.'